Elizabeth & Stephen say we will from Rochester to Stafford

Okay, I bet you are wondering where did these fall images come from?  I managed to sneak in a few engagement sessions near the end of the wedding season and my schedule has been so crazy that, well…here they are.  I was tempted to do everything in B&W, hoping that no one would notice, but of course the spectacular colors won out.  Actually, I loved what was happening in the B&W and de-saturated images and had to include several of them.

Elizabeth, Stephen and I tried to plan ahead for beautiful weather.  The forecast was questionable but we decided to give it a go.  Can you tell that it rained the entire time we shot these?  I tip my hat to both of them because they were not going to let a little water ruin their engagement shoot.  Anyone that follows my blog knows that I love the rain. Embrace the rain is my attitude, and when I look back, some of my favorite images were done in the rain.  If you look closely you could probably discover clues to how wet it really was.  There also is some wonderful light, reflections, and increased saturation (color and clothes) for photographers if you keep your eyes and mind open.  One of my favorite lighting situations is the almost otherworldly dimension that occurs after (or sometimes during) a crazy thunderstorm.  I have studied light my whole life and there is nothing that compares to that post rain/sun breaking through world.  Stephen also reminded us how so many romantic moments in the movies have been captured in the rain.

We started out at a very special tree in Genesee Valley Park near the University of Rochester.  They both have crazy grad student schedules and like to climb up into this huge tree when they can for a break.  So of course I had to climb up in the tree too.  It was a lot of fun, and I could definitely appreciate why they like it so much.  When we finished there we went to the Stafford Country Club golf course.  Stephen is a great golfer (he won the 2006 NCAA Division III National Championship-Wow!) and this is where he proposed to Elizabeth.  Afterwards they treated me to a wonderful dinner  (thank you) and we called it a night.

I had a lot of fun, and it was a pleasure to do this with you Elizabeth and Stephen.  Thank you again for your patience.  I look forward to your wedding and hope that you, your families, and friends enjoy our images.